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Sid Abel

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Sid Abel
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1969
Born (1918-02-22)February 22, 1918
Melville, Saskatchewan, Canada
Died February 8, 2000(2000-02-08) (aged 81)
Farmington Hills, Michigan, U.S.
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Left
Played for NHL
Detroit Red Wings
Chicago Black Hawks
AHL
Pittsburgh Hornets
Indianapolis Capitals
Playing career 1938–1954

Sidney Gerald Abel (February 22, 1918 – February 8, 2000) was a Canadian Hall of Fame hockey player, coach and general manager in the National Hockey League, most notably for the Detroit Red Wings, and was a member of Stanley Cup-winning teams in 1943, 1950, and 1952. In 2017, Abel was named one of the "100 Greatest NHL Players" in history.[1]

Playing career

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Born in Melville, Saskatchewan, Abel, or "Old Bootnose" as he was known, played junior hockey with the Flin Flon Bombers and joined the Red Wings in 1938. He split the next two seasons between the Red Wings and their affiliates in the International-American Hockey League before becoming a full-time player in 1940. He was named captain of the Red Wings in 1942.

In 1943, Abel left the Red Wings to serve with the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II. During this time, he skated with the RCAF team in Montreal. Abel was demobilized late in the 1946 season; he rejoined the Red Wings just in time for the playoffs and regained the team captaincy.[2]

In 1947, Red Wings' coach Jack Adams placed Abel and Ted Lindsay on a forward line with rookie right winger Gordie Howe. Although Abel was slowed down by an attack of pleurisy late that season, the line led the team to a playoff berth.[3] The following season, Lindsay, Abel, and Howe finished first, third, and fourth respectively, in team scoring, and led the Red Wings to the Stanley Cup Finals.[3]

By the 1949 season, the newly dubbed "Production Line" led the Wings to the first of seven consecutive first-place finishes, an NHL record still standing today. However, Howe and Lindsay were hampered by severe injuries that cost them much playing time. Abel was tied with Lindsay for third in NHL scoring and led the league in goals, and he recorded career highs in goals and assists.[4] He was awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's Most Valuable Player, and was named to the First All-Star team.[5]

The next three seasons saw Abel lead the Production Line over all other forward lines in points, and in 1949-50 Lindsay, Abel, and Howe finished in the top three in league scoring, equalling the feat of the famed "Kraut Line" of the Boston Bruins in 1939-40.[5] In 1950, Abel was again named to the First All-Star team and won his second Stanley Cup, and in 1950, he was named Second Team All-Star.[5]

Abel was sold to the Chicago Black Hawks in 1952,[6] and was named coach of his new team. He served as player-coach for the next two seasons, the last full-time player-head coach in NHL history.

Though his No. 12 was honored by the Wings, Abel also wore 4, 7, 9, 12, 14, 19, and 20 throughout his career.[7] He wore most of these numbers during his first two seasons, when he split time between the Red Wings and the minors, before settling on number 12. He wore 9 after his return from the RCAF at the end of the 1945–46 season, as Joe Carveth had taken 12 during Abel's military service, and Abel regained 12 in 1946 when Carveth was traded to the Boston Bruins.[8]

Coaching

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Abel was the head coach of the Chicago Black Hawks for two seasons from 1952 to 1954. He returned to the Red Wings in 1957–58 and served as Detroit's head coach through the 1969–70 season. Abel also served as the Red Wings' general manager from April 1962 to January 1971.

In 1974 Abel was named general manager of the expansion Kansas City Scouts and served through the 1975–76 season,[9] after which the franchise relocated to Denver to become the Colorado Rockies. Abel served as coach of the Scouts for three games in 1975-76 following the resignation of Bep Guidolin.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Abel worked as a colour commentator on Red Wings radio and television broadcasts beside play-by-play announcer Bruce Martyn.

Legacy

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Sid Abel was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1969. In 1998, he was ranked 85 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.

Abel's No. 12 banner hanging in Joe Louis Arena.

Abel's older brother George played for Canada's hockey team at the 1952 Olympics in Oslo, Norway. George scored the winning goal in the final game, securing the only gold medal for Canada that year. Sid's son Gerry played briefly in the NHL, and his grandson Brent Johnson is a goaltender who played several years in the NHL. Sid's son-in-law Bob Johnson was also a goaltender in the NHL.

Abel died on February 8, 2000, fourteen days before his 82nd birthday.

Awards and achievements

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Career statistics

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    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1936–37 Melville Millionaires S-SJHL — — — — — — — — — —
1936–37 Saskatoon Wesleys N-SJHL — — — — — 3 6 2 8 2
1936–37 Saskatoon Wesleys M-Cup — — — — — 8 8 5 13 6
1937–38 Flin Flon Bombers N-SSHL 23 12 16 28 13 8 4 4 8 17
1937–38 Flin Flon Bombers Al-Cup — — — — — 7 6 1 7 4
1938–39 Detroit Red Wings NHL 15 1 1 2 0 6 1 1 2 2
1938–39 Pittsburgh Hornets IAHL 41 22 24 46 27 — — — — —
1939–40 Detroit Red Wings NHL 24 1 5 6 4 5 0 3 3 21
1939–40 Indianapolis Capitals IAHL 21 7 11 18 10 — — — — —
1940–41 Detroit Red Wings NHL 47 11 22 33 29 9 2 2 4 2
1941–42 Detroit Red Wings NHL 48 18 31 49 45 12 4 2 6 8
1942–43 Detroit Red Wings NHL 49 18 24 42 33 10 5 8 13 4
1943–44 Montreal RCAF QSHL 7 5 4 9 12 — — — — —
1943–44 Montreal Canada Car MCHL 2 1 0 1 4 — — — — —
1944–45 Montreal RCAF MCHL 4 6 8 14 4 — — — — —
1944–45 Lachine Rapides QPHL 2 2 2 4 2 — — — — —
1944–45 Kingston RCAF Exhib. 2 2 1 3 0 — — — — —
1945–46 Detroit Red Wings NHL 7 0 2 2 0 3 0 0 0 0
1946–47 Detroit Red Wings NHL 60 19 29 48 29 3 1 1 2 2
1947–48 Detroit Red Wings NHL 60 14 30 44 69 10 0 3 3 16
1948–49 Detroit Red Wings NHL 60 28 26 54 49 11 3 3 6 6
1949–50 Detroit Red Wings NHL 69 34 35 69 46 14 6 2 8 6
1950–51 Detroit Red Wings NHL 69 23 38 61 30 6 4 3 7 0
1951–52 Detroit Red Wings NHL 62 17 36 53 32 7 2 2 4 12
1952–53 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 39 5 4 9 6 1 0 0 0 0
1953–54 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 3 0 0 0 4 — — — — —
NHL totals 612 189 283 472 376 97 28 30 58 79

Coaching record

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Team Year Regular season Post season
G W L T Pts Division rank Result
CHI 1952–53 70 27 28 15 69 4th in NHL Lost in semi-finals (3-4 vs. MTL)
CHI 1953–54 70 12 51 7 31 6th in NHL Did not qualify
DET 1957–58 33 16 12 5 37 3rd in NHL Lost in semi-finals (0-4 vs. MTL)
DET 1958–59 70 25 37 8 58 6th in NHL Did not qualify
DET 1959–60 70 26 29 15 67 4th in NHL Lost in semi-finals (2-4 vs. TOR)
DET 1960–61 70 25 29 16 66 4th in NHL Won in semi-finals (4-1 vs. TOR)
Lost in Stanley Cup finals (2-4 vs. CHI)
DET 1961–62 70 23 33 14 60 5th in NHL Did not qualify
DET 1962–63 70 32 25 13 77 4th in NHL Won in semi-finals (4-2 vs. CHI)
Lost in Stanley Cup finals (1-4 vs. TOR)
DET 1963–64 70 30 29 11 71 4th in NHL Won in semi-finals (4-3 vs. CHI)
Lost in Stanley Cup finals (3-4 vs. TOR)
DET 1964–65 70 40 23 7 87 1st in NHL Lost in semi-finals (3-4 vs. CHI)
DET 1965–66 70 31 27 12 74 4th in NHL Won in semi-finals (4-2 vs. CHI)
Lost in Stanley Cup finals (2-4 vs. MTL)
DET 1966–67 70 27 39 4 58 5th in NHL Did not qualify
DET 1967–68 74 27 35 12 66 5th in East Did not qualify
DET 1969–70 74 38 21 15 91 3rd in East Lost in quarter-finals (0-4 vs. CHI)
STL 1971–72 10 3 6 1 7 3rd in West Fired
KC 1975–76 3 0 3 0 0 5th in Smythe Interim coach
Total 964 382 427 155 919 32-44 (.421)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "100 Greatest NHL Players". National Hockey League. January 1, 2017. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
  2. ^ McFarlane, Brian. 50 Years of Hockey. Winnipeg: Greywood Publishing Ltd. p. 79.
  3. ^ a b Coleman, Charles L. (1976). Trail of the Stanley Cup, Vol.III. Sherbrooke, PQ: Progressive Publications. p. 661.
  4. ^ "NHL 1948–49 League Leaders". The Hockey Database. Ralph Slate. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  5. ^ a b c Coleman, Charles L. (1976). Trail of the Stanley Cup, Vol.III. Sherbrooke, PQ: Progressive Publications. p. 662.
  6. ^ "Sid Abel Career Statistics". Legends of Hockey. Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  7. ^ "Detroit Red Wings – History, 1935–36". Archived from the original on March 18, 2010. Retrieved April 28, 2009. Red Wings Facts, Wings who wore four different jersey numbers, Sid Abel – 4, 7, 9, 12, 14, 19, 20
  8. ^ "Detroit Red Wings 2017–18 Media Guide" (PDF). Retrieved April 4, 2018. Detroit Red Wings All-Time Numbers, pages 272–283 inclusive
  9. ^ "Sid Abel Stats and Profile". hockeydb.com.
  • Carroll, M. R. (2001). The Concise Encyclopedia of Hockey. Vancouver: Greystone Press.
  • Diamond, Dan and Eric Zweig, eds (2003). Hockey's Glory Days: the 50s and 60s. Kansas City: Andrew McMeel.
  • Fischler, Stan (2002). Detroit Red Wings: Greatest Moments and Players. Sports Publishing Co.
  • Podnieks, Andrew (2003). Players:the ultimate A-Z guide of everyone who has ever played in the NHL. Doubleday Canada. ISBN 0-385-25999-9.
[edit]
Awards
Preceded by Winner of the Hart Trophy
1949 		Succeeded by
Sporting positions
Preceded by Detroit Red Wings captain
1942–43 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Detroit Red Wings captain
1945–52 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Head coach of the Chicago Black Hawks
1952–54 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Head coach of the Detroit Red Wings
1958–68 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Head Coach of the Detroit Red Wings
1969–70 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Head coach of the St. Louis Blues
1971–72 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Head coach of the Kansas City Scouts
1975–76 		Succeeded by
Preceded by general manager of the Detroit Red Wings
1962–71 		Succeeded by
Preceded by general manager of the St. Louis Blues
1971–72 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Position created
 general manager of the Kansas City Scouts
1974–76 		Succeeded by
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